Frank Barbaro ’66 (1927–2016)
Frank J. Barbaro, who graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1966 as class president, was a former longshoreman and progressive Democrat who served in the New York State A..
more »Frank Barbaro ’66 (1927–2016)
Frank J. Barbaro, who graduated from Brooklyn Law School in 1966 as class president, was a former longshoreman and progressive Democrat who served in the New York State Assembly after his election in 1972 and remained in office through 1996. A fierce advocate for organized labor, tenants and minorities, he chaired the Assembly Labor Committee and became a prominent voice for working-class New Yorkers. In 1981 he mounted a spirited primary challenge to Mayor Edward I. Koch, vowing, as noted in the New York Times, to “liberate the legend of Fiorello La Guardia from an impostor” as he criticized Koch’s record on unions, race, and economic policy. Though outspent and ultimately defeated, Barbaro remained a persistent and outspoken figure in city and state politics over nearly five decades.
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